Consider this resolution chart:
http://upload.wikimedia.o...ctor_Video_Standards2.svgNowadays most of us have WSXGA+ monitors capable of outputting 1680x1050p. Full HD TV's and bigger screens (like the Apple 30" displays) support even higher resolutions.
Back in the 70ies/80ies PC monitors had much lower resolutions like 320x200, 320x240, 640x480, etc...
On such a monitor that same image of 88x49 pixels would take up much more (relative) space of a screen.
PS: Obviously I was exaggerating a bit with the "half the screen" part, hence the "

" smiley.